Injuries caused by pedestrian accidents can cause devastating forms of injury, mostly in the form of physical, emotional, and psychological distress to a victim, often accompanied by the expenditure of a lot of money through medical costs and absenteeism. Contributory Negligence and Pedestrian Accident Claim is an important concept to consider, when it comes to assigning liability. This legal doctrine can severely coat the compensation process of a victim who happens to be established to have contributed in even the least potential to the accident. Whether as a pedestrian or driver in an accident, it is important to know how contributory negligence works.
Knowledge on Create Litigation Intentional Negligence
The law on contributory negligence is used to either restrict or deny compensation to someone who has been injured on the ground that he or she contributed in any manner to the accident that brought about the injury. Unlike comparative negligence where blame is apportioned in proportion, contributory negligence could be very severe. In states governed by the rule, even when a pedestrian is found least to blame a percent in the accident, he/she may be awarded with zero damages.
An example of this is whereby a pedestrian has crossed the road without using a crosswalk and denies that he/she was in the wrong by supporting the argument that parts of the fault are on the side of the user. This means that even when the vehicle driver was driving recklessly or not paying attention, the pedestrian would not receive damages in some states and counties where negligence bars an individual from receiving the payment.
Impact on treatment of the claims of pedestrian accidents
Filing a pedestrian accident claim may be tricky due to contributory negligence. Insurance providers and trial lawyers tend to employ such doctrine to reduce the amount of compensation or reject claims altogether. Some of the usual situations where the contributory negligence can be claimed would be:
Jaywalking — Walking across a road in an area that is not a marked crossing.
Distracted drivers or blind spots– Not paying attention to the traffic signal and driving in blind spots
Distracted walkers – Jumping the intersection from behind cars
Distracted eating-going out to eat without a cell phone or headphones
Crossing at unsafe times -Crossing in the middle of the road without giving users of the road the time to act.
Although the injured party is a pedestrian, these factors may affect payment of compensation even when the injuries sustained are severe to the affected individual.
The Impact of Evidence to overcome Contributory Negligence
Since contributory negligence may be so powerful, it is important to have all the evidence available to support the case. This can comprise of
Witness testimony– Witnesses who witnessed the accident and reported the same.
CCTV – Video of traffic or security camera footage.
Accident reports– Reports of what the police found at the scene of the accident.
Expert opinion– Accident reconstruction specialists who can establish where the fault was.
The more evidence that indicates that the driver was the primary at fault party, the more likely it is that this potential claim is overcome based on contributory negligence.
Final Thoughts
Pedestrian accidents are complex in the legal questions presented and contributory negligence has the possibility of complicating your recovery of compensation beyond what one would anticipate. By understanding how it works, the victims are in a better position to defend their rights by sharing the matter with the experienced lawyer. This does not take away the fact that there is some responsibility on the part of the drivers to take care but there are precaution measures that the pedestrian needs to take in order to not jeopardize his or her claim. Awareness and the appropriate legal advice will eventually lead one to go down the path to a successful Contributory Negligence and Pedestrian Accident Claim.
